Time Heals the Pain
by Kisamaria
Summary: Some kid was just left to be brought up in the World of Ninja. Grace may not look like much, but for a little girl that can't remember any of her past existence, she's doing pretty damn well. 1st story I could ever be bothered to type...sentimental y'know
1. Chapter 1

Time Heals the Pain

_Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto, Grace however, and her family are MINE._

Grace sighed; it was hard trying to control her imagination. The tall red-headed grown-up seemed to follow her everywhere (except the bathroom of course) and was starting .0to annoy the hell out of her.

"look, if you're gonna follow me all the time atleast _say_ something" the four-year-old spoke in slight annoyance, looking up from an A-level study book.

Normally her "Guardian Angel" as she'd called him in the future, kept a face of stone, rarely revealing even a hint of emotion; but this time he could barely conceal his shock -the Kazekage had concealed his chakra (although in this world there were meant to be no ninja) and made himself seem invisible with a jutsu –how did she sense his presence?

"Hel-lo? Anyone listening?" The young girl hopped off of her bed to the corner where the person she thought was another "imaginary friend" was.

Thinking fast, now unfazed by the huge, curious eyes staring up at him, the leader from another world thought back to what he'd been told in the past- well, his past. Her future.

Realising the child would know and recognise him in the future anyway, he decided he might as well acknowledge the person he had sworn to protect.

"Well, anyway, I'm Grace, Grace McKenzie."

"I am Subaku no Gaara."

The young McKenzie sat down on her computer chair (yes, a four year old that has/can use a computer) and held her head up with her lased fingers, thinking deeply.

"Hmm… it seems I can't really place your accent, Mister…erm…Gaara."

Intrigued and slightly amused by this younger version of the Jewel Witch, Gaara inwardly smiled. "You may call me just Gaara, McKenzie-Sama."

"Japanese…? Sorry, no need for the 'Sama' Gaara, I thought that meant someone important and deeply respected –."

"-It is."

"Well, I have done nothing to deserve such respect, and my friends just call me Grace. So… are you from Japan?"

"No, McKenzie-san, I am-"

"GRACE?"

Grace told her recent acquaintance to "hold on a minute" whilst she opened her door

"By the way, I _told_ you: just call me Grace."

_A/N: Okay, this is my first ever chapterHORAAAAAYYYY!!!!!!!! Opens imaginary champagne bottle, even though she's can't drink it at her age Oh well, starts chasing Gaara and Gracie-chan, chucking champagne at them this is more fun anyway…Thank you for taking time to read this and plz r&r—thanking you in advance! _


	2. Chapter 2

Time Heals the Pain: Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Fruits Basket but Grace, Rhianna and all other OC' s are obviously MINE._

The young child skipped down the stairs, jumping the last couple of steps and skidding into the kitchen (her mother had obviously cleaned the floor with that slippery stuff again).

"Yeah Mum?"

"Aah, they you are Gracie," said the woman wearing house cleaning clothes, vigorously scrubbing at a stain on her oldest daughter's cosplay outfit (Tohru from Fruits Basket) "I'm quite busy with housework at the moment, could you be a dear and get dinner for everyone?"

"Why can't Dad or Liam do it?"

Without looking up, Anne McKenzie answered "Your father and brother have gone out again to visit _them"._

Grace bit her tongue refusing to answer and just nodded. She knew she had to work on keeping calm when her mother was on the verge of insulting her father's family.

She couldn't let her mother know why she had so much respect for them, or the reason her Dad, brother and sister went out to meet them so much (usually in secret).

"Fine, I'll make Rhianna some soup to go with her medicine; what would you like Mum?"

"Hmm? Oh, I'm fine dear."

After spending a couple of hours tending to a herbal soup (whatever the hell that is) and the right dose of medicine, Grace brought a tray up to her sister's room and knocked.

Cough "Come in."cough cough

"Hi Rhia! Feeling any better?" Grace said with false yet flawless cheeriness "I brought you something to eat with your vitamin tablets."

"Thanks."

"It's B12, so it should bind the cyanide and make it harmless-"

Rhianna started to vomit violently into a bucket kept by her bed. Her younger sister

rushed round to keep her hair back whilst she threw up. The four-year-old then mopped her sister's face with a damp cloth and got her a glass of water along with the medicine and vitamins she had to take.

"Drink this, you need to get some fluids and antidote in you."

The sick girl just smiled weakly at her little sister and managed to choke down most of the water and the medication. "I'll just go rinse out your bucket…anything else you want or need?" the bright infant asked thoughtfully.

"Hmm… how about a hug from my kawaii little sister?"

The two girls hugged though not too tightly, the seventeen-year-old was rather weak from almost being assassinated. She'd been injected with a large amount of cyanide during an anonymous political discussion and would have died there and then if her father hadn't carried her back to the house where Grace was.

"My doctor, nurse and pharmacist rolled into one" Grace gave a wry smile at these words. As soon as she could hold a book, she tried to read anything and everything, giving her a vast knowledge of many things -mostly if they interested her. Science and first aid had been one of them, and she found quite easily in a Science book how poisons worked and all about the antidotes.

The "real life Matilda" quickly washed out her sister's bucket, cleaned up her tray and dishes, asked her mother if she was sure she didn't want anything to eat, checked on her sister again to find her asleep then realising how exhausted she was herself, she fell onto her bed and was asleep almost instantly.

She had been so busy throughout the day that Grace hadn't noticed the ninja watching over her the entire time.

Gaara wasn't sure what to make of this. This girl had spent most of the day looking after her sick sibling, without finding any time for herself.

Of course, the Grace McKenzie he had known of was loving and caring, but he hadn't expected this –not from a _four-year-old_. He had watched her throughout the day. Curious as to why her mother (he assumed) had tensed as she mentioned "them"(who ever they were)and the obvious way Grace had to stop herself from saying something at that point.

'Perhaps she knew more than she let on? Or had a different view on something?' Then the Kazekage realised how little most people knew about her in his world, albeit the fact that she seemed, as Temari had once put it, like "a female version of Naruto, but with a little more class".

"You are a very mysterious young woman, Kenzie-san." He thought out loud, knowing no one could hear him, or else he never would have called her by her nick name. And he would never _ever_ call her Kenzie-_kun_ (real nick name).

Realising she was shivering in her sleep, Gaara waited for her mother to come and "tuck her in" as it seemed to be called.

No one came. Looking around then allowing himself to sigh, he lifted the sleeping girl with his sand and covered her with her duvet.

"Well isn't this a picture to be reckoned with. Hymph."

Subaku no Gaara turned to face the intruder, taking his fighting stance (crossing his arms across his chest, surrounding himself with chakra filled sand).

_A/N: Hello everyone! Hope you liked this chapter, but in all honesty I still feel like this is still the intro. Please keep reading, and please review –I hope to put in my first fighting seen next chapter, so be patient, I know your just dying to read it! Hehe I'm so full of it…oh well ;p_

_Ciao for now. _


	3. Chapter 3

Time Heals the Pain: Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, His Dark Materials Trilogy or Harry Potter. Would be nice though…

"Deidara." There before him stood the member of the Akatsuki that had managed to defeat him before. But times had changed. Gaara was more aware of how this member operated. Besides that, there was no way in this or any other world that the Akatsuki would take this child. Not while Subaku no Gaara was watching over her.

"Hymph. It seems you are protecting the brat." Deidara paused for moment, then reached for some clay in his side-bag…

"Not in here". Gaara did not wish for her to see this or get caught in battle at her age.

"Indeed, there is not enough room. Hmph."

The two fought on the street outside Grace's house. Luckily it was a little past midnight and most people living nearby were asleep.

Gaara had used his "third eye" to watch over Grace in case the bastard tried something, which, no doubt he would.

However, this meant he could not encase himself completely in the sphere of sand.

Plus, he would have to attack the Akatsuki member without his sand touching his arms -he might attach exploding clay, the same way he'd caught him last time.

Deidara sent clay birds flying towards Gaara who quickly defended against them with sand.

Sending sand into the ground to crush other minerals etc into sand, Gaara made it shoot up to Deidara who was now flying on a giant clay bird.

"Hymph, he missed."

"Not quite."

Two giant sand hands had grabbed and crushed the clay wings whilst Deidara had thrown clay bombs to dodge a sandstorm infront of him.

The sadistic bastard's eyes widened in surprise as he fell from the sky and smashed on the ground. A clone of clay?

Tiny, grey, clay beetles leeched onto Gaara's back, and exploded.

Deidara gave a smug "Hymph" before realising it had been a sand clone that had exploded.

"Idiot. Are you trying to draw attention to yourself?" the Kazekage stated more than questioned before engulfing the enemy in a desert coffin. At which point he saw the child he was protecting awaken through his third eye. They had to quieten down. Gaara created a dome of sand around a large surface area to attempt to stifle the explosions. If people of this world found there were others, whilst being in political turmoil themselves, (unknown to the general public) they may drag other worlds into war with them.

But this used up a lot of chakra , building walls thick enough to block out sound.

Suddenly a small person burst through gaara's sand dome; impossible for ordinary people. Only one person could do that so easily, and that was in the future.

Waking to a hovering eye ball inches from your head is enough to alert most people. Grace had heard a commotion and looked onto the street to see a wall of sand, but she'd heard shouting- Gaara, she was sure of it. She jumped out the window and expertly landed on her feet (her family were often in danger due to certain members' political positions. They needed to be able to escape/protect themselves).

Sand, eh? Looked like she would have to use her brain and imagination for this one. The mini genius wasn't fantastic with jewels yet, but it seemed they were needed.

Muttering to herself quickly(this was a sign she was thinking hard) she took out two rings from her pockets. One diamond, the other a ruby. Putting them on her opposing middle fingers, she pictured herself holding a blade made of diamond, and a gleaming, translucent sword appeared in her right hand (which had the diamond ring obviously).

'_Diamond can cut through anything'_ she thought to herself, and sliced through the sand and followed through to the battle ground. There was that guardian person, Gaara, fighting a blonde woman in a dressing gown with red clouds on it.

The blonde woman turned to smile wickedly at Grace. "So here she is finally. Grace-sama come, you are great enough, at your age, to join with the most powerful beings in our world. The Akatsuki."

Grace blinked puzzled by what had been said. Also, hearing that the blonde had a man's voice, got her into hysterics (she may be smart, but she's still only four).

This surprised both Gaara, and Deidara.

(Muffling her giggling) "And umm… do you all dress like _that_ at the Akatsuki?" She asked, looking serious apart from the humorous glint in her eye.

"Yes," answered Deidara "but I fail to see what is so funny; hymph."

"Well, mister..?"

"Deidara."

"I'm afraid I'll most certainly decline your offer, seeing as the Akatsuki are transvestites."

It was amazing how she managed to say that with a straight face. Infact, this left everyone speechless for several minutes.

"What makes you think that, child?" Deidara's voice was dangerously soft.

The four-year-old just shrugged "You said they all dress like you, you are obviously male from your voice, but you dress like a girl, therefore you must be a transvestite. That or you have imbalanced hormone problems-"

"-Looks like you need to learn your place, brat."

He was just going to strike her. Not fatally, just enough to knock her out for the next few weeks, she was needed alive, after all, seeing as she could be their downfall in the future otherwise with them, their most powerful weapon. The Akatsuki had done this with many members, by going back in time to when powerful people were young and vulnerable to their attacks, and misguiding, manipulating and/or kidnapping them to join; including the most recent member found by this, Uchiha Itachi.

Deidara was so blinded by his anger that he forgot Gaara and went to attack Grace.

He was blocked of by a wall of sand which took the full brunt of the impact, scattering sand everywhere.

"You shall _not_ harm McKenzie-san, especially while I am here.

The two fought in a fairly even match until, Grace realised, her red-haired saviour was tiring.

'_I've used up to much chakra, this won't last much longer at this rate'_ he thought to himself.

'_I have to do something, before Gaara dies up there'_ she thought. There was no way in hell she was going to let her friend die. Thoughts raced through her mind. There might be a way, if all Deidara's attacks were clay based. Saying that, Grace would most certainly tire out mentally, a lot of reasoning behind theories, creativity and mental strength would be needed. She had never used her mind this much before, the question was; could she, as a child, take it?

'_Yes I can, I must save Gaara. There's no way I'll lose to this guy.'_

Gaara dodged everything thrown at him. Just.

"I'll put you out of your misery now;" said the angry Akatsuki member.

"Then I'll take the kid back and make her one of us, I believe Leader has certain

Mind-controlling and brainwash jutsu he'd like to try out."

Letting himself get angry was incredibly out of character for Gaara, but the way he talked about using McKenzie-sama really fired him up, and he lashed out rashly, as expected and was led into a trap. Deidara threw a Buddha shaped sculpture towards Gaara, like the one that had nearly destroyed the Hidden Village of Sand all those years ago.

But the Kazekage was out of chakra, and no longer being a jinchuuriki, sand didn't automatically protect him. He would just about be able to keep the explosion inside the dome of sand, but couldn't protect Grace. He shouted to her to get out of the dome, she wasn't listening, being in a trance like state; thinking.

"Grace get out of the dome!" Her eyes widened but instead of running away, she was headed towards the fight.

"Run stupid girl!" he thought he screamed, but there was a moment of absolute silence then a blinding flash, all he could do was shield his eyes and take most of the impact with the sand dome.

Finally opening his eyes, Gaara was amazed, and infuriated to find a firey-golden haired child in front of him, taking a defensive stance.

A transparent prism surrounded the two for a moment, reflecting the attack back at the enemy.

Grace flinched; she obviously couldn't use or take as much force at this age.

'_I've sworn to protect her. I can't let her fight, she'll be drained in three moves.'_

"Gaara, I may not last long, but please trust me" McKenzie turned her head to see over her shoulder "I won't lose, that's a promise."

Before he could respond, Grace was running towards Deidara with literally lightening speed, but exploding clay was also racing towards her too. Struggling to move, from lack of chakra, Gaara was forced to be a spectator; and, as she had said herself, believe in her.

'_I hope this works,'_ Grace thought _'well, no turning back now, let's just pray I'm as brilliant as everyone says.'_

Clay crickets jumped towards her, Grace smiled, she had expected this. Concentrating on her left arm (which had the ruby ring) she caused fire to surround all of the clay coming at her, thus, heating it up.

And we all know what happens with heated clay.

The crickets grew hard and heavy, making them unable to move and hard to wield.

"Impossible. There should not be a way to stop my clay. Hymph…"

(Whey, he's a poet)

"On the contrary, there is _always_ a way; it's just a matter of working hard enough to find and do it."

Grace had gotten within striking distance, and just as Deidara's mouth on his right palm spat out a ready made clay object, Grace made _the_ Subtle Knife appear, just long enough to thrust it through his hand. "You shan't make anymore evil clay men, you 'hymphing' bastard." And with that they both gave a last attack. The evil one taking the last bird he'd made and fired it into her chest, then their eyes met the child with the determination and tenacious look that said "I'll never give up" reminded him of someone. Grace thrust a palm ablaze with fire into his chest at the same time he hit hers. They both fell back in opposite directions.

'_Now I see. She's just like that nine-tails jinchuuriki_.'

With that, Deidara crashed to the ground. Grace would have too, if Gaara hadn't stopped using the sand force field and ran to catch her in his arms.

Grace lifted her eyelids with great effort and spoke weakly. "Sorry, couldn't dodge the last bird thing, he won't be making anymore…damn, my head hurts."

Gaara would have raised his eyebrows if he'd had any. He was more worried about the gash over her chest.

Realising she had an almost certainly fatal wound, the bright young girl knew what must be done. "Chrno…"Grace whispered, knowing the daemon would hear her, in fact, having read His Dark Materials trilogy, she knew that he knew what she was thinking, and, therefore, knew what to do. The problem was, she had to stay conscious long enough to be healed by part of her soul. Turning her head to face her protector, she had tried, in as little words as possible, to tell him what she as doing.

"I have to heal myself before I bleed to death, but that'll take up the rest of my mental energy, might faint and remain unconscious for a few days…will…explain…then." Her eyes closed then "Sorry I…. couldn't……heal……your wounds."

'_You took your time' _she thought as Chrno took the form of a phoenix and let tears spill from his eyes into Grace's most critical wound. It was a good thing Liam had given her Harry Potter books to read a year or so ago, or Grace never would have imagined phoenix tears to have healing powers.

The Kazekage from another world and the future stared in disbelief as he saw Grace's temple pound and could sense her concentration. He looked at the open wound to find it…healing, and the edges being surrounded by steam. As soon as she fully healed, the tiny girl passed out.

_Yay for me, I wrote another chapter! Takes a bow, even though no-one's there Also, this included my first ever fight, so if anyone that reads this can give me any tips and stuff on how I could improve it (or anything else for that matter) that would be much appreciated! I've not had a single review yet, but I won't let that get me down! Like my imaginary characters-that-haven't-been-written-about-yet-and-are-getting-sick-of-the-inside-of-my-mind keep telling me, all writing is good experience, and even if no-one ever, ever, EVER reviews, I'll keep writing and try to improve in anyways I can. ; _

_But it would be nice to get a review! Hell, it would bloody brilliant and I might jump for joy….well, maybe not, but it would really great; maybe I'm just being impatient, seeing as I just added the first two chapters yesterday night hehe. Oh well, I won't beg, just give you all PUPPY DOG EYES!!! O-O _

_Okay puts serious head on I know Grace hasn't moved to another world yet, but I feel I really need to write a little about what happened before hand; there'll probably be one more chapter in Grace's world before she "travels" to another world. Well, that's all for now, _

_Au revoir, mes cheries _


	4. Chapter 4

Time Heals the Pain: Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own naruto, and to anyone that hasn't read dark materials; daemon is pronounced demon, and no, it's not spelt wrong. And you'll understand the Orwell thing much later on (or already, if you know about 1984-which I don't own- If you don't know, don't worry about it, I'll explain later on) Now on to the story! I command you! (Please? OO)

If you don't know, don

"What…happened?" asked the tired looking girl, trying to sit up in bed, and then finding she couldn't. She couldn't help but groan, her headache was killing her, and she'd obviously not eaten in ages, hence she could barely move.

"You've been unconscious for three days, sweet heart."

"What?! How's Rhianna? I need to help, she needs the drugs to get better-"

"Grace darling, you need to rest." The girl's mother said, gently but firmly pushing the girl back down.

"Also, we need to know what happened, your brother and I heard a loud 'bang', found nothing then to find you sleeping for three days covered in scratches and cuts." Her Dad had walked in, still wearing his "work" clothes (khakis, combat boots and a long black leather jacket.) His nose was broken, again, and there was a fresh wound on his face but her parent still had the warm, tenacious, courageous grey-blue eyes he shared with his children.

"Dad…" Grace smiled weakly, still restraint by her mother. "I'm not really sure what happened…I think I used too much mental energy again, I'm sorry, Dad, but I really don't remember…"

"It's alright Kiddo, just rest for now."

"B-but Rhianna-!"

"She wouldn't want you to work yourself to death trying to look after her. Your mother and brother can help for now-"

"But-"

"In the state you're in, caring for Rhianna would bring no good for anyone. The best way you can help us and Rhianna right now is to get better."

She sighed, too tired to argue, besides, her father had a point; she needed to rest if she were to help the others. Closing her already exhausted eyes, Grace fell into a dreamless sleep.

Gaara had been listening the whole time Grace had slept. He had regained his use of chakra, and become quite interested in the family conversations; especially those between the father and son. Although, the spouse arguments proved to be interesting too.

"When shall they be moving?" asked Liam, not turning his eyes from his sleeping baby sister. For some reason he couldn't explain, he was worried for her safety.

"Night fall, looks like the Orwell Party shall strike by then. Where, we cannot say, just keep your powder dry, Son."

"Understood. What about the girls?"

Grace's father seemed, to Gaara, quite troubled before he answered a minute later.

"If Grace doesn't recover soon, I fear we may not be able to save Rhianna. I don't like it, but she's probably one of the best medics available at the moment, and the way things are going, Rhia won't be the only one needing Gracie's medical help.

And if the worst happens, which shall be soon, the bastards will attack known rebels, and their families. Us. By this time your mother and I shall join the overseas allies. You three must travel separately, though in their conditions, I'd say that unlikely. But if any of us are to survive, we must fight and take flight. If not, Orwell will be proven right, and the future of freedom shall be lost."

There was silence in the room as the adults thought up tactics and plans for escape.

"And Grace…will she have to…fight?"

The father gave a sad smile. "It's not something anyone wanted, but she is prepared, physically and mentally, there is also the fact she has no real choice."

Liam clenched his fists and punched the wall, creating a large crack.

"She's still a kid, god-dammit! How the hell could you let this happen?!"

Grace muttered something in her sleep, wincing slightly. At this Liam stormed out, not wanting to trouble his little sister with his frustration in case he broke something (like another wall) and went down to the cellar for some target practice. He could do with shooting something.

Meanwhile, Marshal McKenzie kissed the sleeping child's forehead, whispering something almost inaudible for her to hear. "I'm sorry for the future I have condemned you to, little one." He then got up and left.

A minute after he left, Grace opened her eyes and sat up fully, thinking about what she'd heard. It was nice to know Liam (and her mother, judging from the huge rows she couldn't help but over hear) cared so much about her safety and innocence, but Grace knew that her family, and everyone else going against the "Orwell" party needed her help.

But what had been said about Rhia scared her no doubt, and no matter what, she had to give her big sister the best possible chance. Gently stepping out of bed, then, realising how weak she was, toppled over. Luckily no one had heard.

Well, no-one that _mattered_ as such. The truth was, Grace remembered everything that had happened the night she became so weakened. As usual, the red-haired guardian was watching from a corner.

Seeing the child stumble, he flew over to help her back to bed, then finding her push him away, getting up of her own will.

"I don't know who you are exactly, or why you're protecting me, but I'm gonna help my sister no matter what, and I am _not_ going to let her slowly die a painful death just because I was too weak to help her".

Gaara remained silent; what could he say to that? He closed his sleepless eyes, thinking for a moment.

Grace sighed. "Look, I'd hate to say it, but I can't do this on my own, and everyone else will just make me rest longer. I'm really going to need your help. Please, _please help_. It's not like you have anything better to do anyway."

"Very well." Gaara said in that emotionless voice he so often used. "How can I help?" Grace smiled; a determined spark in her eye. "I need to see her condition first. I shall determine my choice of action as of then."

Slowly, the youngest McKenzie crept across the landing into her sister's room.

From a distance, the young woman seemed to be resting peacefully, but the girl qualified to be a doctor knew better. Edging towards the bed, the tiny child studied the young woman that had been like a second mother and best friend to her. And did not like what she saw.

Rhianna was unconscious, and shaking slightly; she'd have to act fast. Grace checked the girl's pulse –her heat beat was erratic and irregular, and, she noticed, Rhianna had turned an incredibly bright shade of red.

"Damn it!" Grace bit her lip as she watched her sister start to have a violent seizure.

All she could do was watch in terror, and the part of her that was still a four-year-old child came to light. She then snapped backed to her genius self, and screamed for everyone else in the house. Her father came racing through the door and realised what was happening instantly. He hated to say it, but he had to wait until the seizure was over before they could do anything.

"Grace, leave."

"No! I can't leave her –I'm the only one qualified as a doctor-"

"There is a reason doctors don't treat friends and family in surgery -they get too emotional."

"I don't care, I won't leave. I promise I won't cry."

She closed her eyes, she couldn't look; in all honesty, it was a lot to ask of an infant.

"If you're going to stay, watch, Grace. It'll make you stronger." She silently nodded, glad her father would let her stay; and began to think franticly.

'_Seizures, red face, erratic heart beat, next is cardiac arrest and then…then it's…no, don't think like that, you WILL save her, there's ALWAYS a way…in the medical world there isn't much I can do, since we can't take her to hospital but my mental strength is coming back rapidly…I could heal her with Chrno, but her daemon might attack him, in the state she's in…but only his tears can save her…and everyone else here are adults, and none of their daemons are phoenixes; besides, I'm the only one that can make his tears that way…I have no choice…this will hurt us both…please forgive me Rhia…'_

"Dad, there is a way, but only I can do it and it may seem like I'm not doing anything but-"

"Grace" her father put his hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eye; "I trust you, even if I don't understand your power, I trust that you'll use it to the best of your abilities for the sake of others."

Grace gave a wry smile "okay, but it may be quite distressing to watch. And it'll sound weird, but her soul could actually attack you."

"In that case, I most certainly won't leave you to face this on your own." He returned the wry smile; he couldn't help but be proud of his youngest child, she would go far in life, assuming she had the chance.

"Dad, I'm sorry, but I can't endanger your life." With that, Grace caused a mini hurricane with her mind to push her father out the room, as she quickly locked the door and turned to face the other person in the room. "I haven't forgotten you're there, I know I can't make you leave, but I was serious about the soul thing."

Gaara replied almost instantly. "My duty is to protect you; I shall not leave until I must." Grace gave another wry smile. "I'm not sure if I admire your bravery or am annoyed by your foolishness, but I must ask you not to interrupt, no matter what, though just so I know, why are you protecting me?" Grace asked as she told her daemon to cry over Rhianna's chest, which was bear apart from her bra (healing tears work only on bear skin).

Gaara paused as if to remember something. "All I shall say is that you will understand in the future."

"Well, unfortunately I don't have time to question that, so I'll start.

_I must hold down Rhianna's daemon, so that he doesn't try to kill mine, but touching another's daemon is the ultimate trespass, this'll hurt us both like hell.'_

Holding down the confused looking lion daemon, she felt her insides burning.

"Now!" The phoenix started crying from pain he could feel from Grace.

Rhianna started screaming in pain, although she wasn't really conscious, but from what Gaara could tell, the one in real pain, although he couldn't see why (she seemed to be wrestling with something invisible) was Grace.

Half an hour pasted of none stop screaming from Rhianna, whilst Grace bit her lower lip to stop herself from being consumed in agony. She had to stay strong. One's will and inner strength was also needed when trying to stop someone else's daemon.

'_Finally, the poison had been neutralised, judging by Rhianna's daemon'_ Grace thought to herself. Realising both Rhianna and her daemon had regained most of their awareness, and would no longer attack, their saviour let go of the lion daemon and collapsed onto the floor, out of breath.

After what felt like an eternity, a hoarse whisper called out to the child.

"G…Grace?" The little girl started laughing from relief and, mopping the sweat from her brow, she practically flew over to her sister and gave her hug.

"Gracie! You're….squeezing the… life….out of…me."

"Sorry Sis, I thought I'd lost you for a moment there; I'm just glad you're okay-"

There was a crash and some gunshots, then Liam and the girl's parents came barging into the room (Liam had knocked down the door).

"Great, you're both awake, now is time we must all take flight." Their father spoke urgently. "There isn't much time –your mother and I shall move Westward, and moving abroad to another ally base. Liam, we need you to stay, but you need to get into hiding; there's a safe house beneath the Eye." His son nodded in understanding.

"Rhianna, you are now seen as an absolute threat to the Party, they'll just pin some crime on you and make it legal for them to shoot you down in the street, if not make you 'disappear' in the night. You should head north, towards the Castle, you should be safe there until a certain young lady grows old enough to lead her own army –there shall be people to teach you both of such things when you get there. Grace and Rhia both nodded in unison, understanding perfectly what their father meant. Gaara however, (still invisible to all but Grace) couldn't be completely sure of what was going on. From what he had heard from conversations, Grace-sama's family were part of some kind of resistance and had to flee for their lives. But he was sure Grace would fill him in when he got back to the present, he would be heading back as soon as they all left the house; that was when she had told him to leave.

"Good luck Kids, and don't do anything rash, and keep in contact without drawing attention. I have faith in you all." They all said their goodbyes, without shedding any tears. It was at that moment, that Grace realised the eyes that do not weep, are the saddest eyes of all.

"Will we ever see each other again?" The young prodigy asked to no one in particular. The sad thing was, no one really wanted to answer her question.

Liam crouched down to his baby sister's level. "We may not all see each other again, but we're at war, and do you know what the best thing you can do for your big brother, sister, mum and dad?" The little girl shook her head, afraid to speak as she was on the verge of tears. "Be strong. There'll be others that won't be able to keep their heads in battle, others that won't cope so well with the loss of friends and family. Some that become so overwhelmed with all that's going on that they will lose the will to live, or even let themselves be manipulated by mind games of the enemy. You need to be strong, Grace McKenzie; physically, mentally and spiritually not just for yourself, but for everyone around you, and your family. Understand?"

"Y-yes. Yes Liam; I promise to become strong and protect everyone!" Grace clenched her fists and had the same tenacious look she had inherited from her father.

"That's my lil' sis." He ruffled her hair, before getting up to leave, as they all were.

"Good luck everyone!" Grace called out, but they had already left.

"Grace! Come on!" Rhianna called. She had hastily put on black clothing and blacked out her face among other things and was already half out her bedroom window that led down into the back garden, to a secret underground tunnel hidden near the pond that no-one knew Grace knew about.

Watching Gaara cut through the air, step side ways and disappear, Grace smiled to herself. _'looks like I won't be seeing him again in a while'_ she thought to herself.

'_Good luck Gaara, I get the feeling we'll meet again someday, then I'll ask you what you meant by me understanding in the future.'_

"Grace! Come on!"

"Coming!"

With that thought, Grace ran over to climb out the window. She realised her life would never be the same again.

_Okay, I'm finally pleased with this chapter. And guess what? This is the last chapter before Gracie reaches the Naruto world!!!!!! Hoorah!! Sorry it was such a long intro. --;_

_Oh yeah, and I'm hoping that maybe I could receive a review or two…if that's not too much to ask…._

_Oh come on! It's my birthday next week (24__th__ September, just to let you know hehe) so….what was my point again? Oh yeah! At least 1 review please, even if you don't like what you read –if you say what you like/dislike it might help me improve as a writer; and I'd be sure to get back to you to thank you for taking time to review._

_Well, thank you for reading this far, I promise to update after that 1 review ;-)_

_Auf Wiedersehen meine Leser!_


	5. Chapter 5

Time Heals the Pain: Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

_Three years later in Grace's world…_

'_And to think it's come to this. May the gods have mercy on this world, for I do not.'_

A person wearing a long black cloak, fled down the cobbled streets, a seven year-old-child in her arms. _ 'She must be spared, if we are all to live. It's best that you don't remember' _The woman thought to the child.

She stopped. They were down here. She could sense that sickening aura. If this child were to survive, they must escape somewhere none of _them_ would ever find her.

'_If this child isn't to die from this sorrowful burden, she must forget, until she is ready for her destiny.' _

Realising that fighting right now could endanger the young girl's life; the mysterious hooded woman took a dagger from her pocket, and pointed it to her right, searching out the bonds to the World of Ninja. She swept the knife through the air, making a tear through space and time then quickly diving through, before people of this mentally sickening world could follow.

_The Ninja World; Konoha, the Hokage's office, approximately 1:30pm…_

"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune exclaimed, bursting into the short-tempered woman's office, having knocked down many people in the hallway with tons of paper work in their hands.

"Shizune! What is the meaning of this?!" Tsunade barked from behind her desk, sitting up straight. She was annoyed to have been interrupted from her afternoon sake.

"It's the Space-Time Sorceress."

Tsunade was alert immediately. "Send her in."

"Tsunade-sama" The woman hidden in a pitch black cloak gently let an unconscious child she had been carrying, lay on the floor, whilst the 5th Hokage stared in amazement and astonishment. Few had ever even _heard_ of the keeper of time, let alone met her. Then the fierce, fair haired leader of the Leaf came to her senses.

"Correct me if I'm mistaken in thinking you are unsure if I am who I say I am."

The Hokage stayed silent, her eyes piercing missiles that would have made Naruto run for cover. The time-keeper continued "That is why I brought you this." She handed some unknown object to Tsunade.

The Hokage's eyes widened with shock. There was no doubt that this woman was who she said she was.

Stepping aside from her desk, the great leader of Konoha bowed deeply before the sorceress.

"Chrno-Witch-dono, it is an honour to meet you."

"Konohagekure no Hokage, rise, in your future you have gained my respect."

Tsunade was rather taken aback by this last comment; she found it almost too much to believe that _she_ had been called Tsunade-_sama_ by such a supreme being. Then, as if to prove she had respect for Tsunade, the Legendary Sorceress sank to her knees and bowed before the humble woman.

"I'm must get to the point, Tsunade-sama; I did you a huge favour in the future, but now I must call for one in return." The woman almost too great to describe turned her head to the unconscious child in beside her. "I am asking you to raise this girl. Raise her with love. Raise her with care. But most importantly, raise her as a ninja." The witch looked up into Tsunade's eyes, fierce, deep brown meeting wise, over-powering grey-blue. "I want you all to raise this child as a ninja of both Konoha and Suna!"

The Hokage's curiosity got the better of her. "Why two villages? That has _never_ been done before…"

Smiling slightly, the witch answered whilst getting up "Let's just say that this kid has more to her than meets the eye. Besides that, McKenzie-san is not safe in her world; it is vital that she learns the many ways of the ninja; it shall help her when the time comes for me to awaken her, and when that time comes, she must be ready to remember everything without it destroying her from the insides."

Tsunade stared down at the child. She looked peacefully asleep, blissfully ignorant of the two leaders around her.

"Are you saying you want this child to grow up in the countries of leaf and sand, being taught by the many great shinobis of these lands?"

Still, the witch smiled, though Tsunade was confused as to how she would explain this to the people of Konoha. The witch reached inside her black coat, bringing out some documents.

"These are all the information you shall need on Grace McKenzie, and trust me when I say you'll need no excuse to get all the ninja teachers of Konoha to teach her. This sleeping angel" the woman looked at the child with pride "shall be one of the hardest workers you will ever meet, and even with no memories, she'll be a prodigy even Suna will ask to "borrow".

Tsunade shook her head and sighed. "I would trust you with my life, Witch-dono, so now I vow to do as you have asked."

"Good luck Tsunade, just a little warning though; little Gracie's mind tends to wander sometimes….well, I'm sure you'll find out; for now I must get back to my own time."

Thirty seconds after the sorceress left, Tsunade came back down to earth from her thoughts.

"Shizune!"

panting, out of breath "Y-yes Tsunade-sama?

"I need you to send an urgent message to the Kazekage of Sand, and this girl;" she gestured towards the floor "find her somewhere to sleep until she wakes up."

"But who is this girl?"

"The first ninja to belong to two ninja villages; now go!"

"Understood."

_Konoha Hospital; 10:30am, 2 weeks after Tsunade's acquaintance with the Time Witch;_

Grace tried to lift her eyelids, but the light was just too bright; she couldn't remember where she was or what had happened; and to top it all off, her head felt like it was being constantly hit with a sledgehammer.

'_Great, I'm too knackered to move AND my heads gonna explode…just brilliant…who are those voices talking around me?'_

A woman that sounded incredibly bossy to Grace, was quietly shouting (A/N; is that even possible!?) in an unknown language (A/N; Naruto characters all speak Japanese in my fanfic, except the Gaara from Grace's past, but she doesn't remember that, and it's not happened yet….well, I'm gonna shut up now :-P) at some unknown younger sounding male.

"Naruto! Be quiet! Grace-san needs her rest!"

"Sorry, Tsunade obaa-chan, but she better hurry up and wake up! It's getting _boring_ waiting around."

Grace heard a smack, and an "ouch" from the impatient sounding male. A younger female voice whispered angrily in what Grace now guessed to be Japanese.

"Baka, Naruto! You can't rush recovery!"

Grace tried to open her eyes again, to find the room less blindingly bright; and colourful blurs of orange and pink staring down at her. Seeing that she was finally awake, the pink blur called for someone whilst the orange blur helped Grace sit up.

"Thank you," Grace whispered, her sight now coming to focus as she sat up, "excuse me, but who are you?"

The eccentric looking blond adolescent seemed very confused and said something in Japanese.

'_Huh?! What's going on? This guy's speaking a completely different language; so where am I? Hang on –_who_ am I?'_ Grace couldn't remember anything about herself, let alone how she had ended up in hospital.

The pink blur which Grace now saw to be a pink haired nurse barged into the room with a tall bossy looking woman with rather large…_'Okay, those have to be implants…'_

The obscenely large chested woman walked around the hospital bed to Grace's right hand side. Hoping she might talk some English, Grace asked the woman where she was and how she had got there.

'_Indeed, just as She said, Grace-san doesn't speak our language; but Witch-dono said this would work…'_

Tsunade put a haematite pendant around the confused child's neck.

'_I don't blame the girl for being scared and confused, all of her memories have been suppressed, and she has no idea who or where she is. At least I can help her with the latter part.' _

"It's nice to see that you're awake."

Grace's eyes widened, she understood what the woman was saying!

She looked down at the haematite pendant; the black jewel was shaped like a dolphin, and, Grace guessed, helped translate for her.

Reading the woman's lips, she could tell she was still speaking a foreign language, but how the necklace helped was hard to explain; she could sort of see subtitles inside her head of their language translated to English. _'Well, I can understand them now; but how do I get _understood_?'_

The seven-year-old girl was about to reply in English, when the Japanese kanji for what she was thinking appeared in her mind. _'Oh yeah, that's _really_ useful, seeing as I can't read kanji!'_ As if to read her mind, romanji appeared above the kanji, and she tried speaking this aloud. It worked. Grace had a million questions to ask; the problem was Tsunade could only answer about five thousand…

_After a couple of hours of explaining…._

Grace McKenzie, as she understood her name to be, was feeling a little more confident and brave with every answer she'd got from Tsunade-obaasama.

So far she had found out (seeing as she'd lost all her memories) her name, her date of birth, age and she was currently staying in Konoha hospital. Konoha was a ninja village and (she was surprised to hear) she was to enter the ninja academy after some tests.

"Oh, and by the way, Naruto and Sakura here have been assigned by me to look after you; you may live with either of them until you are capable of living on your own."

"Hai! Arigato Naruto-san, Sakura-san!"

Naruto put his hand behind his head and grinned, Sakura beamed with her hands behind her back. This kid was really kawaii! (They had already fallen in love with her hehe).

Sakura was the first to reply; "It's no problem Grace-"

"Just call us by are names, no need for formality –just Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto!"

Grace couldn't help but giggle at the camp-ness of her new housemate/friend.

"So hurry up and get better! Then I'll show you round all of Konoha!"

Grace smiled "Okay!"

After watching Sakura hit Naruto for interrupting her, the 5th Hokage ushered the two out of the room.

"Grace-san needs her rest, we must leave her in peace for a while." As everyone left the room, the tired child called "Wait, Tsunade-obaasama!"

"Hmm? What is it, child?"

"Well, Naruto and Sakura didn't want me to call them with 'san,' so could you maybe…call me just by my name? It's just that, I don't think we bother with that stuff in my language and to me it sounds quite…well...cold. No! I'm sorry, I hope I didn't offend you in anyway it's just that I prefer my friends to call me by just my name, not that I'd do that to you, Tsunade-obaasama, you're the leader of this village so I must call you that of respect-"

"Grace! I understandperfectly, but also I would like you to stop calling me _obaa_sama."

"Hai! Sorry Tsunade-sama." _'Ha! I reckon Naruto was telling the truth when he said she makes herself look younger; hence he calls her Tsunade-obaachan.'_

"Now," Tsunade spoke as she left the room "I order you to get some rest; after all, you have a lot to learn and you are to take the academy tests in a week's time."

"I'll do my best to be better by tomorrow." _'And I'll do my best to remember everything, so I can stop being such a hassle for everyone.' _Still tired from all she had taken in, the bright child fell asleep, dreaming of being carried by an unknown person in black.

_Well, there you have it, my latest chapter sorry if it seems at all rushed but its Sunday night and I just remembered I have physics homework; I'd do it tomorrow morning but that day so happens to be my birthday (Hooray! 14 at last, not that it really makes a difference in anything but yay anyway D) well, I'll update as soon as I can but r&r plz, though I'll write even if you don't. ;P_

_Sayonara! -_


	6. Chapter 6

Time Heals the Pain: Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but all rights to Grace are mine!

_The next day, Sakura's apartment…._

"Hey! Sakura-neechan! Matte!"

Sakura turned to around to see the curly/wavy haired child running up the stairwell.

"Grace! What were you doing down there?" The kunoichi asked, rolling her eyes. She'd barely known Grace a few days and already she was a handful. '_But a _sweet_ handful'_ she thought to herself, as the girl she already thought of as her kid sister tried to carry all the grocery shopping into Sakura's kitchen. "Wow, you have a pretty home, Neechan!" Grace exclaimed, looking around the house in curiosity.

Sakura beamed for about the twentieth time since Grace had woken up yesterday morning. She seemed to bring the best out of people.

Grace had wandered off upstairs _'She sure is curious about everything, guess she reminds me of myself at that age. Actually, I really hope that's not the case –another girlie, boy-crazed, can't-fight-for-anything ninja…but somehow I can't see little Grace being a weakling like I was' _the pink-haired kunoichi shuddered at the thought; she wondered how her team-mates had ever put up with her. Thinking she better go check what Grace was up to, the owner of the house went to find her new flat-mate.

Grace was busy looking at framed photos on Sakura's bedside table. She looked mesmerized by all the pictures, taking them all in.

"What have you found that's so amazing then?"

"Hmm…? Oh sorry! I was just looking at all your photos…"

"Well…" Sakura walked and crouched down beside the child "That's Team Seven –our group photo."

"Team Seven?"

"Of course! You forgot everything didn't you? Well, when you graduate from the academy, you're put into teams of three and taught by one sensei." Sakura laughed, remembering the first and second bell tests.

"Hmm" Grace thought aloud, "That's you, Sakura neechan, and that's Naruto-neechan!" she laughed hysterically "And it looks like he still wears an orange jump suit!"

They both laughed for several minutes.

"So, that masked guy, was he your sensei?"

"Yes, that's Kakai-sensei, or Kakashi."

"Why is he wearing a mask, does he have bad burns or something?" Sakura thought for a moment, they had never actually asked _why _he wore the mask, just tried to get him to take it off and failed.

"You know McKenzie-san, we never really asked."

"Aah! Don't call me McKenzie-san, Sakura! Naruto says its _way_ to polite."

"Hah! As if _he_ would know anything about manners!"

"Aww, he's a good guy really." The only McKenzie in the world of ninja looked at the fourth person in the picture, and then sensed her almost-sister tense as if she knew what she was going to ask. "And, who's the other person?"

To Grace, it seemed like forever and a day went by before she got an answer.

"Sasuke, Uchiha Sasuke." There was no emotion in the young woman's voice as she said his name. But when Grace looked up at the now standing woman, her fists were shaking and her eyes were glazed over in sadness.

"Sakura," Grace went over and hugged the trembling woman, then pushed herself away to look the kunoichi in the eyes "Please tell me."

Looking away from those warm, grey-blue eyes full of empathy; Sakura sighed.

"He abandoned the village to join Orochimaru, a very evil person; because he thought it was the only way he could improve and become more powerful, to kill his older brother."

Listening intently, trying her best to be a good shoulder to cry on, she had to ask. "Why did he wish to kill his brother?"

"H-he killed the entire Uchiha Clan, all except S-Sasuke. Apparently Itachi left him to make him avenge his family. Sasuke only lived for revenge after that. It…was only a matter of time….I….I couldn't stop him…no-one could, not even Naruto. In-fact, Sasuke almost killed Naruto when he tried to stop him."

Tears were now streaming down the emerald-eyed woman's face. But she had to continue;

"S…Sasuke-kun is not evil! He's not...just in darkness…..to Orochimaru he's just a container, he just wants to steal his body…..Sasuke doesn't even care.…just wants….to…kill Itachi."

"Sakura…" the understanding child saw something in her friend's eyes "You love him, don't you?"

Sakura was silent. She couldn't deny her feelings, but she was too ashamed to speak.

Sakura's silence was all Grace needed to confirm what she'd already known. Reaching out to hold the crying young woman, she spoke softly but firmly "We'll bring him back, I'm certain of it. I promise to help you and Naruto-neechan find him and bring him out of the darkness!" There was a muffled laugh, _'She sounds just like Naruto, making promises and intending to keep them, just for the sake of others.'_

"Well," Sakura got a hold of herself finally "Promise me you'll get big and strong, and then you can help us, okay?"

"Yeah! I promise I'll catch up with you and Naruto, and we'll find your team mate together!"

"Come on, you help me put away the groceries then I'll take you to Naruto's place."

"Oh yeah! Naruto-neechan promised to show me around Konoha; I hope it's not too much trouble…"

"Don't worry, Naruto is a naturally outgoing person, he'll enjoy showing you around; besides, it's his latest mission to show you everything, and Naruto _always_ works hard on missions; in-case he hasn't said it yet, his dream is to become the next Hokage."

_On their way to Naruto's apartment;_

"Hey! Fore-head girl!"

Sakura stopped walking down the street, Grace also turned to see a vein on Sakura's head pulsing badly, and two people of Sakura and Naruto's age standing in front of them. The blonde woman looking like she couldn't care less and the large boy was snacking on a huge bag of crisps.

"What is it?" Sakura asked, her temper slowly fading, the truth was, she couldn't be bothered fighting Ino. In fact, they'd become fairly good friends again after Sasuke had left.

"Me and Chouji were looking for Shikamaru, you seen him?"

"No sorry, but I'm busy at the moment I'm-"

"Hey! Sakura-neechan!"

Ino looked over at the seven-year-old kid running towards them. "Neechan?" She looked over at Sakura questioningly. As far as Ino knew, her old friend/rival was an only child.

"Hajimemashite! Watashi Grace McKenzie, who are you?"

'_Well, judging from the name she isn't related to Sakura, guess they're just close.'_

"Yamanaka Ino; and he's Akimichi Chouji." The large sixteen-year-old male gave a grunt of acknowledgement and continued wolfing down a packet of crisps half the size of Grace.

"Anyway," Ino continued looking back to Sakura, "Two things; 'A', who is this kid you're with; and 'B', could you help us look for Shikamaru? He was meant to be training with us today…"

"Training!" Grace piped up, excitedly, "Can I watch? _Please?!" _Ino was about to give a harsh reply when Grace gave her THE cutest puppy-dog eyes she had ever seen.

"Kyaaaaaaaaa! Kawaii! Kenzie-kun!!!!" Ino was hugging 'Kenzie-kun' aka. Grace so hard she could barely breathe.

"Erm…Ino?" Chouji finished his before-lunch snack and tried to get the mad woman off of the traumatised child. Eventually Ino let go, and agreed on Grace watching them practise. "But first, we have to find Shikamaru!"

"Hai! I'll definitely find him!" Grace was about to run off in search for the missing chuunin when it dawned on her that she had no idea what he looked like. After memorising a picture shown by Ino, Grace ran off to find him. How hard could it be to find 'Konoha's no.1 lazy ninja', as his team-mates had called him?

After splitting up to search, no-one seemed to have any idea where Shikamaru could be.

'_Hmm…If I was lazy and trying to avoid confrontation, where would I go…?'_

Grace scanned her surroundings from a tree top (she likes climbing) and saw a sleeping sixteen-year-old on top of a large tree branch.

'_Good hiding place,' _the under-average-height child thought as she took a running jump towards the tree a certain lazy genius was hiding above.

'_I was lucky to find this guy, if I hadn't been in a tree nearby, I wouldn't have spotted him at all.'_

"Hey," the equally bright child shook him "Shikamaru, wake up!"

"Nn?" The lazy ninja opened an eye to see who was disturbing him from his afternoon nap. "Who are you, and how do you know me?"

"Oh, right! I didn't introduce myself, sorry –I'm Grace McKenzie, though Ino and Chouji like to call me Kenzie-kun; well, call me either, I don't mind. _Anyway…" _ Grace had to remember why she was here. "Oh yeah! Aren't you meant to be training with your team-mates today? 'Cos they're looking for you."

"Why does it bother _you_ whether I train with them or not?" Grace just shrugged.

"Ino and Chouji said I could watch if I found you. So come on!" The little girl tugged at the unmoving ninja's arm. "Why aren't you moving?"

"I don't intend to move from here for a while."

"Why?"

"It's too troublesome to explain, let alone to tell a kid like you."

"Well, then it's settled." Grace sat down next to Shikamaru, looking down at the passers-by.

Despite his intelligence, Shikamaru was now confused. "Why are you still here, yet not trying to drag me to the others?" He sat up and had opened his eyes fully now to get a better look at this curious child.

Again, Grace shrugged, "I can't force you to go, but I can stick around 'till I find out why and who you're hiding from."

His eyes widened in surprise; "What makes you think I'm hiding from a particular person?" Grace sighed.

"And they told me you were smart -it's written all over your face that you're hiding from someone. I reckon it's a girl….is it Ino?"

"No" he sighed "She's certainly not Ino."

"Aha! So it _is _a girl you are hiding from! Well…what happened? Did she reject you or something?"

"No, she is just too troublesome to be around, let alone talk to."

"I see, so basically she is quite domineering and often challenges or insults your ego."

"To put it bluntly."

"Well, in _that_ case, I reckon there's hope for you after all." She grinned at him, a sparkle in her eyes. "Because her type don't like admitting their feelings –though that's just a guess, judging from what you've told me."

Shikamaru was taken aback. He hadn't expected such an answer, especially from the little he'd said –and from a seven-year-old, too.

"Come on!" The child wise beyond her years stood up. "You can't hide forever, and you'll always regret it if you never tell her how you feel. Besides, she'll think a lot less of you if she found out you were hiding from her." The young McKenzie child half pulled, half helped the lazy ass up. "But don't worry," she winked at him "I only found you trying to have a nap before training, I'm sure that's not out of the ordinary." He gave Grace a rare smile, which she gladly returned. "Now come on, the others will be wondering where we are, and I want to watch you guys train!"

_A few minutes later, Grace and Shikamaru are headed farther into the woods to meet the others…_

"Why are you so keen on watching us train for combat?" Shikamaru asked the girl skipping from excitement.

"Hmm? Oh, I hope to become a great ninja like Naruto and Sakura someday! Besides, I join the ninja academy in a couple of days and Tsunade-obaasama said that I need to do some tests beforehand just in-case I'm smart enough to skip a few grades. I really want to do well, but I only started studying yesterday, which isn't very fair…."

"Why didn't you study beforehand?"

"Oh, I lost all my memories." Grace stated this like a simple fact of life, as if she'd just said the sky was blue.

"Nani?" He obviously thought he'd misheard the child.

"Basically, I only got out of hospital today. Apparently I was found to have collapsed, and when I awoke, I had no memories of _anything_. I didn't even know who I was until Tsunade-obaasama showed me my birth certificate. She says I was a child that must have wandered off from the orphanage." _'But that doesn't explain everything; like why do I need a translator if I'm from here? Also, even if I am an orphan, wouldn't my birth certificate have my parents' names as well as my birthday? And I _know_ there is something I'm not being told about, because of those dreams I keep having. Those are _definitely _not flash backs of a normal past.'_

"Well," Shikamaru started "as troublesome as it is, if you need any help just ask."

"Arigato Shikamaru-kun!" Smiling because of the light-heartedness of a certain little girl, Shikamaru almost didn't see Grace crash into a couple of sand-nin.

_Sorry I haven't updated in ages, but I sprained my wrist badly whilst rock climbing, and moving my arm and wrist kinda hurts hehe. And I need to apologise in advance for how long this story is going to be…it sometimes takes me a while to get to the point. So now I'll try my best to update more but I can't make any promises because I have a LOT of homework and tests at the moment._

_By the way, a HUGE thank you to __SkyBlueDragon25, my first reviewer (that has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?) knowing someone wanted me to write more sped up the process immensely, so the more reviews, the faster I'll right hehe, you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours. ;D Well, that's all folks,_

_See ya later! ;)_


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